St. Pierre Cathedral

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The St. Pierre Cathedral is a cathedral in Geneva, Switzerland, belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church. It was begun in the 12th century, and includes an eclectic mix of styles. It is best known as the adopted home church of John Calvin, one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation. Inside the church is a wooden chair used by Calvin.

The area beneath the Cathedral has recently been excavated extensively, revealing a rich history of the site dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. From the 8th to 10th centuries it was one of three cathedrals to coexist on the site. The present building has grown from a cathedral devoted to ecclesiastical use and an early Christian funerary cult; the other two structures, subsumed in the 12th century by the growth of the surviving building, were apparently for different uses, one for public sacraments and the other for church teachings.

[edit] External links

• St Pierre's Cathedral - official web site (French)
• A picture of the whole Cathedral from the air
• The Dalai Lama visited the Cathedral in 1999

Images:

• Stained glass
• Cathedral organ

Coordinates: 46°12′04″N, 6°08′55″E